Unlocking Portugal's game development industry

02.04.2024 - 14:37 / gamesindustry.biz

The Portuguese games industry had a big presence at GDC last month, with over 50 delegates from 20 companies attending, 14 companies represented in the country's pavilion (its first ever at the event), and a reception organised at the Consulate General of Portugal welcoming over 100 attendees.

This reflects Portugal's upwards trajectory over the past few years, as also evidenced by the opening of a games-specific co-working space in Lisbon a few months back. The Gaming Hub aims at becoming a "focal point for innovation, collaboration, and growth within the gaming industry in Portugal and beyond," executive director of the Portuguese Game Developer Association (APVP) Diogo Rato said at the time.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Rato tells us more about the impressive trajectory of the industry in the country.

"The official public data shows that since 2010, the number of studios in Portugal has been increasing year-over-year by more than 20%, and [at] a rate of 33% since 2018," he says. "Impressively, the revenue generated has observed an even bigger CAGR: since 2010 a CAGR of 41% and since 2018 a CAGR of about 63%. The official turnover was over €38 million in 2022 – the most recent data available. Since 2018, the number of people working in the game industry has grown by approximately 53% each year."

Portugal started making its mark in games over the last decade, Rato continues, but he points out its roots in indie development dating from the '80s.

"One remarkable example is Elifoot – one of the first football management games – developed for ZX Spectrum," he points out. "[But] only after 2005 it is possible to observe new games being released every year, such as Toy Shop Tycoon from Seed Studios, or Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward by Camel Entertainment."

Miniclip establishing itself in the country in 2010 ahead of 8 Ball Pool's hit release had a lasting impact on the Portuguese games industry. An increased number of professional developers established themselves in the country in the first half of the 2010s, Rato explains, contributing to games including Seed Studios' Under Siege, MotoGP 13 (by Bigmoon Entertainment then, now called Saber Interactive Porto), and Quest of Dungeons by Upfall Studios.

And since 2018, Portugal has experienced "unprecedented growth and innovation" in games, Rato continues, pointing to game releases, studio acquisitions and creations, and workforce expansion across existing companies.

For instance, in 2018, Doppio (recently acquired by Fortis Games) started developing voice-activated and narrative games (and soon got investment from the likes of Amazon and Google). AR-focused studio OnTop also opened its doors that year.

In early 2019, Funcom acquired Lisbon-based studio